“I learned my lesson in Australia” – Rune credits Rublev for final-set tiebreak win at Wimbledon 2023

After defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the third round of Wimbledon 2023 on Saturday evening, Holger Rune has revealed how his mindset has shifted in pressure moments over the past six months.

Rewind the clock to earlier this year, and Rune suffered a heartbreaking loss to Andrey Rublev in the fourth round of the Australian Open. The round of 16 encounter went to a fifth set tiebreak, where Rune botched two match points to lose 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (9) to the fifth seed.

Since then, the young Dane has played another two final set tiebreaks at Grand Slams, and won them both. After completing his second such victory on day six of Wimbledon 2023, Rune shared about how his Australian Open loss helped improve his mental resilience.

“I did change something from that” – Rune on his newfound ability to handle pressure

Speaking to the media following his win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Holger Rune explained how his loss to Andrey Rublev has impacted his psyche moving forward:

“Yeah, I think I learned my lesson in Australia actually against Rublev,” said the 20-year-old.

“That was a very heartbreaking loss for me. It was tough, but, you know, often from these matches you learn the most. I definitely learned how to stay cooler and play better in this situation.

“You know, I did change something from that match tiebreak to the other two I played. It’s going well. I’m telling myself to be brave and not to put too much pressure on myself, because if you put big pressure on yourself and then you lose, it hurts so much. Just to be free.

“If I lose, I want to lose the right way.”

Thankfully for Rune, he hasn’t had to experience such defeat yet.

Underarm serve a surprise for Rune

One of the big talking points from the final-set tiebreak between Holger Rune and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was the Spaniard’s decision to go for an underarm serve at 8-8 in the breaker.

Davidovich Fokina attempted to catch Rune off guard with the shot, which failed drastically as Rune crushed the low-pace serve for a cross-court forehand winner.

After the match, Rune revealed that it’s not a shot he would have chosen to play himself.

“I wouldn’t do it. But again, every player has a different style. You know, I mean, if he made it, it would have been the right shot. It’s tough to say,” said Rune.

“But yeah, I wouldn’t have done it. I thought that I would trust my serve and go big, also like I did in the match points, the match point I saved. I think it’s different from person to person.”

The Dane went on to explain that the tactic did succeed in catching him off guard, however.

“Yeah, that was crazy. That was very unexpected, for sure.”

“In a way, it nice, because he was serving really well during the match. But also, you know, it’s pressure, because imagine I missed that one. That would feel awful.”

Up next, Rune will play the winner of Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16.

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